This invention is in the field of sewing machines; more particularly, it is concerned with a needle thread wiping device suitable for use in a wide variety of sewing machines.
There are many examples in the prior art of thread wiping devices used to avoid the necessity of having an operator remove the severed thread end from a work piece. Such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,901,171, issued on Aug. 26, 1975 to Rosa.
Many of these prior art devices have limitations of one sort or another. For example, the devices may be bulky, may only operate with a single needle, or, in some cases, may interfere with an operator's free motions in the stitching area. As examples of prior art devices, there are the Japanese Lay-Open Nos. 53-2662 and 52-13945 of Brother Industries, laid-open on Mar. 7, 1978 and Jan. 31, 1977, respectively. These Japanese Lay-Opens disclose thread wiping devices for double needle sewing machines which are cumbersome, bulky, and in some cases, may interfere with the operation of the sewing machine.
What is required is a thread wiping device which is compact, may be stored entirely out of the sewing area for the least interference with an operator of a sewing machine, may be readily retrofitted on a wide variety of sewing machines, and for selective use for single or double needle sewing machines. Ideally, such a device should be capable of economic manufacture.